Former Special Counsel Jack Smith pushed back against Republican Senator Eric Schmitt during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing after a key line of questioning unravelled over a team name mix-up. Schmitt attempted to link Smith to Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis through an alleged trip to an Atlanta basketball game.
During the hearing, Schmitt presented text messages attempting to prove Smith attended an Atlanta Hawks NBA game in February 2024. The senator suggested the trip served as cover for a clandestine meeting with Willis, who was leading a separate election interference prosecution against former President Donald Trump in Fulton County.
However, Smith firmly denied attending an NBA game in Georgia. Instead, he clarified that he had attended a women’s college basketball game featuring the University of Iowa and the University of Maryland, which took place in College Park, Maryland.